Philippines already has a lot of records about having the most, the least, the tallest, the shortest, the first, the last, the worst and the best. Filipinos are also very creative. Filipinos! That's what WE are. Many said that we have no identity. But i said we have. We are unique. Let's see what's on top of what we can offer.
[BALOT]
We commonly eat egg sunny-side-up or hard boiled. In the Philippines we offer you a very different style of eating egg. And it's not just an ordinary egg. It's called ballot. I don't know the exact English term for this but I think we can call it premature duck egg. Balot is a 16-21 day old fertilized duck egg boiled in water to cook. An ordinary egg will hatch 21 days after being fertilized. Therefore, balot is an unhatched egg with a premature duck chick inside. In choosing the best balot, it's like playing Black Jack. The nearer the age of the egg to 21 days, the bigger the chick you will have. Of course you don't want to eat a chick with all it's parts completed--the beak, feathers, organs and feet. I suggest you choose 16-18 days.
There's one kind of balot we call penoy. It's the kind that is less than 16 days old. In that case, the chick is not yet formed. If I would try to describe it, it's more like an ordinary boiled egg. The only difference is that the yolk is not anymore to be found. I think it already mixed with the white part. I don't like to eat penoy. It's very much different compared to balot.
[THE ART OF EATING BALOT]
Eating balot is not as easy as you think. First, you have to know which end of the egg you should break and I always forget which one. You should know this or else, you will be force to eat the hard part first, which most people don't usually eat. As you can see, an egg has two ends. One is pointed and the other is round. If I remember correctly, you should break the egg at the pointed part by knocking it on a hard object. Perhaps on the wall or if you want to do the old Filipino style, break it with your forehead. I always do this when I was younger until I realized that I'm hurting myself. At least try it once. =)
After trying to look for the right end of the egg, enjoy your balot by sipping the soup inside. In order to do this, you should make sure that the hole of your balot is not too big. The soup will serve as the first part of your balot experience. The taste is indescribable and I really love it. It's a part of your balot 'cause it's a part of the chick's life that you're going to eat later, so don't waste it.
When you're finish savoring the soup, you can now slowly widen the hole by breaking the shell slowly. Leave some shell for you hold the egg properly. At this moment you should be able to see a grayish and a yellow thing. The grayish thing is the chick. That will be our goal. The yellow part is not that challenging to eat so you can eat it first(save the best for last).
Balot also comes with free salt and spiced vinegar. To eat your balot, first, pour a little vinegar then spread a little salt. Now, munch that little chick like there's no tomorrow. If you will chew it slowly, you will feel the beak and the bones breaking. It's so yummy.
The last part of your balot is what we call bato(tagalog term for rock). You have the option to eat it or not. If you will ask me if I eat it, well yes. I also paid for it. Don't forget to put salt. (Warning: old people with false teeth, don't try it)
[WHERE TO FIND BALOT]
Please take note that balot is only available at night. You can see vendors selling it at the corner of some streets. Some uses bicycle to tour it around. Others just walk and shout. BaloooooOOoot...
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